Lawsuit over beef farm in trout stream watershed may proceed
U.S. Law Review
A state court judge said environmental groups may proceed with a lawsuit seeking to halt expansion of a cattle farm in northeast Iowa near a prized trout stream.
Judge Michael Huppert on Monday ruled against the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which sought to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and Iowa State Council of Trout Unlimited.
The groups are seeking to protect Bloody Run Creek, a stream in Clayton County that is among the few waterways designated with an Outstanding Iowa Waters designation qualifying it for a high level of protection. The owners of Supreme Beef want to stock farm buildings with 11,600 cows and spread manure on fields that are in the stream’s watershed.
Huppert found the Sierra Club has standing to sue by showing that some of its members fish, hike and shoot photos in and along Bloody Run Creek. He said the group has adequately shown that real harm could come from cow manure reaching the creek and that concerns aren’t just speculative.
The cold-water creek has significant populations of several trout species.
The Iowa DNR approved a manure management plan for the farm in April 2021 despite claims that it underestimated by more than 1.3 million pounds the nitrogen and phosphorous that would be released by the cow manure.
“The resulting pollution will have a devastating and irreversible impact on an Iowa Outstanding Water, the fishery residing within, and other streams,” the Trout Unlimited group said in a court document.
The DNR did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the ruling.
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USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.